Adolescents’ state authenticity and inauthenticity when socialising online with a friend: Motivations in friendship

Authenticity is important for psychological thriving and adolescents experiment with who they are becoming (identities) with friends, so friendships are an important relationship where state authenticity and inauthenticity (the sense of and being the real me right now, versus not the real me) occur. Recent qualitative research noted friendship motivations may be connected to adolescents’ state authenticity and inauthenticity experiences, so the current study quantitatively investigated whether motivations/regulations (intrinsic, identified, introjected, external, and amotivation) predict adolescents’ state authenticity and inauthenticity when socialising online with a friend they also know in-person. Adolescents (13–17 years old, N = 130) completed an online survey about their experience of socialising online with a friend in the past 24 hours. Two exploratory factor analyses (EFA) using polychoric matrices were conducted (n¹ = 115), followed by a multiple linear regression (n² = 108). Two EFAs were conducted, with state authenticity and inauthenticity items forming one factor, while motivation in a friendship items formed two distinct factors (autonomous motivation and controlled motivation). The regression showed autonomous motivation in a friendship predicted and explained 18% of variability in state authenticity and inauthenticity (large effect). A very large sample is required to validate and identify whether controlled motivation in a friendship (e.g., involving guilt) may have a small effect. Autonomous motivation in a friendship includes positive social values, such that friendships where autonomous motivation is present enables state authenticity, and by extension, opportunities for teens to psychologically thrive.